As we prepare to close on our first house this week, there are so many thoughts running through our heads… Obviously there’s excitement. We finally get to unpack all of our boxes which have been sitting in storage for 6 months! There’s also lots of anticipation, as we decide which projects we’ll take on first (typical guy-Joe can’t wait to get his hands on redirecting the gutters and cutting down trees, while I want to clean and paint every single surface). But, we both agree, the first thing on the To-Do list has to be the boring, practical stuff that one can’t live without. In our case, that would be buying appliances! I have never in my life felt more adult than this past Saturday as I stood in line at Lowe’s, sorting coupons to purchase a refrigerator, washer and dryer. As dry as that sounds, I did actually enjoy myself because I feel like I got a really really good deal, and there are few things I love more than that! Here’s how you can save hundreds on the biggest more boring purchase of your life:

Get your timing right. I know this isn’t always feasible-if your fridge goes out, you kind of need to replace it before the milk spoils. But, if you have some flexibility, wait for a holiday. We waited to make our purchase until the Black Friday Deals rolled around (which actually started November 3rd, not Black Friday FYI) but even on holidays like Columbus Day there will be sales! So, instead of paying full price, we saved $1000 on this fridge, and $200 each on this washer/dryer pair!!

Give out that email. Wherever I shop, I always ask to sign up for their emails for exclusive coupons and sales alerts. Obviously, only do this at stores where you enjoy shopping or else your inbox will be a tad bit full. I also recommend following stores on social media so you always know what’s new and what deals are happening. I had my eye on Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Sears for appliances, but in this case, I saw Lowe’s was offering a gift card when you purchased multiple appliances with this rebate, so I went with them. And guess what? I got me a FREE $100 gift card!!

Combine offers. There was a brief moment during the transaction when I felt like a huge cheapskate and I could swear the sales associate’s eyes were judging me for asking about multiple deals. But here’s the thing, when it comes to saving your family some money, you should never feel shy about this! Double down! I got a coupon from the USPS in the change of address packet for an additional 10% off, which on a large purchase really adds up. It saved us an additional $179 on top of the sale and rebate!

So, do your research ahead of time and be ready when the sales align! In our case, we saved $1580 and got $100 to spend on our next project!!